Our leaders

Our Commissioner

Susan Pascoe AM is the inaugural Commissioner for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), Australia's first national, independent regulator of charities established in December 2012. Prior to this appointment, Ms Pascoe was Commissioner of the State Services Authority in Victoria. In this role she chaired or co-chaired reviews into the regulation of the not-for-profit sector (2007-08), the design and governance of regulatory bodies in Victoria (2008-09), and Victoria's Indigenous Employment Strategy (2008-09). Ms Pascoe was appointed in 2009 as one of three Commissioners for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Black Saturday Bushfires.

Ms Pascoe’s earlier career was in education. She participated in state, national and international efforts to improve the quality and equity of school education. She also served as President of the Australian College of Educators, CEO of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. Susan chaired the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, and was a Patron for the Melbourne Parliament for the World's Religions. She has chaired or served on a number of education, health and government boards.

Susan's significant achievements and leadership were acknowledged in 2007 when she was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for service to education through a range of executive roles, development and implementation of curriculum policy, to international Initiatives and resources for educators in the Pacific region, and to the community.

Our Assistant Commissioners

David Locke, Assistant Commissioner, Charity Services

David Locke was Chief Adviser to the ACNC Taskforce prior to his appointment to the role of Assistant Commissioner, Charity Services at the ACNC. David was formerly the Executive Director of Charity Services at the Charity Commission of England and Wales, with responsibility for the strategic leadership and operational delivery of all the Commission's one-to-one services to charities. David led a transformation of the Commission's services which were recognised when he and his team won the UK Public Service Award for Best Operational Delivery across Government. David has worked as an adviser to several international governments on the regulation of non-government organisations.

David is a qualified lawyer in the UK, who started his career in community legal centres where he spent over 10 years managing the delivery of services to the public. David has served as a board member and volunteer of a number of charities and not-for-profits.

Murray Baird, Assistant Commissioner, General Counsel

Murray Baird joined ACNC after a career as a private legal practitioner practising in not-for-profit and charity law and governance. He was previously Senior Partner and leader of the not-for-profit group at Moores Legal, Melbourne. As well as advising, writing and presenting on not-for-profit legal issues, Murray has acted in several leading cases in the field of charity law.

Murray also has practical experience of not-for-profit issues through a number of leadership roles in the sector. He has been Chairman of Ansvar Insurance (a specialist insurer in the not-for-profit sector), Chairman of First Samuel Limited (an investment adviser and manager for many in the sector) and Chairman of the National Housing Company which is engaged in affordable housing. He has also served on boards of schools, church and community organisations. Murray was formerly a Director of Australian Charity Law Association and Appeals Officer for the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct.